Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Ways To Perform Your Own Home Inspections

By Beryl Dalton


Taking time to carry out a house assessment is one of the most important things that you can do when buying a house. Defects that were not foreseen can end up costing you hundreds of dollars in repairs once you have moved in to the house. If you are the person who will be performing the home inspections, you have to focus on areas that are most likely to be in need of repairs.

Divide the assessment into two; exterior and interior. Start with the exterior and finish with the interior. This will require you to begin by taking a look at the gutters and the roof.

Begin the exterior assessment by inspecting the chimney, the roof and the gutters. The chimney needs to be straight with no bricks or mortars missing. As for the gutters, what you need to do is make sure they are still firmly attached to the sides.

Take some time checking out the siding. It is important to make certain that walls are not bulging or bowing in any one place. In addition, there should be no missing bricks. This only applies to houses constructed using bricks and mortars.

The entire weight of a house rests on the foundation area. If the foundation is weak, it will only be a matter of time before things starts falling apart. You therefore have to check for the presence of cracks and shifting.

As you head into the house, be sure to spend some time carefully inspecting all doors. Where wooden doors are present, there should be no rotting taking place. Ensure you also check the bottom of each door for weather-stripping.

Windows should be the first thing you examine when inside the residence. In many cases, the windows are left wide open. Move them from side to side without exerting pressure and note down your findings. You should also test all the locks found on the doors and in the windows.

Walk through the property as you check out the different sections of the existing carpet. A carpet that has become worn out is easy to tell. It will have some patches in sections that are over used. In addition to wear and tear, you should also be on the look out for the presence of any odors.

Do not forget to examine the ceiling. With the ceiling, the main thing to check for is whether it has stained in any areas. Staining is often brought about by leaks taking place. Leaks are common in properties that have roofs with holes.

Complete your assessment by visiting the kitchen to confirm that everything is working as it should. Always take note of the appliances that are present in the kitchen and what their age is. It is possible to anticipate problems with an appliance by checking out the year it was manufactured and also checking for its service record.




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